Hello winter, goodbye autumn

Spring and autumn are times of transition. Thinking back to the start of the autumn – I was about to run my first half marathon, and it was hot. It was too hot. It stayed hot until, all of a sudden, around mid-October, it wasn’t. Everything went cold, wet and windy. Suddenly the biggest problem was forcing myself to get out of the door, into the grim, grey, cold outdoors. But I did get out and run, and always felt better for it.

This autumn has also been a time of personal transition. I’ve started a new job, with new responsibilities. A positive change, but sometimes a challenging one. And then, more recently, my family have suffered bereavements that have been hard to come to terms with. But through these confusing and challenging times running has been my constant, my refuge, my recovery.

Today I ran my first run of the winter. Just a short after-work 5K to help work through some stress. It was cold and crisp outside, with a fresh breeze. There was a little sunshine. It felt good.

Goodbye autumn, hello winter.